Reactor and manufacturing method for reactor

ABSTRACT

A reactor is provided that can reduce or alleviate stress that can be applied to a magnetic core, and also has excellent manufacturability, and a reactor manufacturing method is also provided. The reactor includes a coil and a magnetic core that includes a plurality of core pieces and a gap member that is interposed between at least one set of core pieces, the magnetic core forming a closed magnetic circuit when the coil becomes excited. At least one gap member is a resin foam gap member that includes, in a contact region that comes into contact with the core pieces, a resin foam portion constituted by resin foam.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is the U.S. national stage of PCT/JP2016/061591 filedApr. 8, 2016, which claims priority of Japanese Patent Application No.JP 2015-082402 filed Apr. 14, 2015.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a reactor for use in, for example, aconstituent part of a vehicle-mounted DC-DC converter or powerconversion apparatus installed in a vehicle such as a hybrid automobile,and relates to a reactor manufacturing method. In particular, thepresent invention relates to a reactor that can reduce or alleviatestress that can be applied to the magnetic core, and also has excellentmanufacturability.

BACKGROUND

A reactor is one type of component of a circuit for performing a voltagestep-up operation or step-down operation. A reactor includes a coil thathas a tubular winding portion formed by winding a winding wire into aspiral shape, and a magnetic core that is disposed inside and outside ofthe winding portion and forms a closed magnetic circuit when the coilbecomes excited. Some magnetic cores are formed by combining a pluralityof core pieces whose main component is a soft magnetic material and agap plate that is interposed between the core pieces and is constitutedby a nonmagnetic material such as alumina. The core pieces and the gapplate can be integrated by, as described in JP 2013-004931A for example,using an epoxy-based adhesive or a urethane-based adhesive (paragraph ofthe specification) or a cold setting elastic adhesive (claim 1).

JP 2010-263074A discloses a magnetic core in which an elastic gap membermade of an elastic material such as silicone rubber is interposedbetween core pieces, and integration is performed without using anadhesive. JP 2010-263074A discloses a configuration in which the coil,the magnetic core, and a plate spring that presses the magnetic core areassembled together and stored in a case, and these members are coveredwith an outer resin portion, and a configuration in which instead of theplate spring, the magnetic core is maintained in ring shape by beingconstricted with a band-shaped constriction member.

There is desire for a reactor that can reduce or alleviate stress thatcan be applied to the magnetic core, and also has excellentmanufacturability.

In the case of using a thermosetting adhesive such as the epoxy-basedadhesive described above, the core pieces are fixed firmly. However, aswill be described later, portions of the core pieces in the vicinity ofthe connection between them can become mechanically weak points.

When a reactor is in use, the reactor is subjected to vibrationattributed to magneto-striction, vibration produced by the automobile orthe like to which the reactor is attached, and the like. Stressattributed to these types of vibration is applied to the magnetic core.If the core pieces are fixed firmly, this stress does not causedetachment at the interface between the core pieces and the adhesive,but rather can cause breakage or the like at portions of the core piecein the vicinity of the connection between them. In other words, there isa risk that the core pieces themselves become damaged. In particular, inthe case where the constituent material of the core pieces is acomposite material that includes a magnetic powder and a resin, due tocontaining a large amount of resin, the strength tends to degrade incomparison with the case where the core pieces are a compressed powdercompact or a magnetic steel plate. Also, if a portion of the magneticcore that is not in the vicinity of the connection between core pieces,typically a portion exposed from the winding portion, is used as aportion for attachment to the installation target, portions that are inthe vicinity of the connection between core pieces and are distant fromthe attachment portion can move to a certain extent with the attachmentportion as the base point, and therefore such portions even more easilybecome weak points in terms of mechanical strength. For this reason,there is desire for the ability to reduce or alleviate stress that isapplied to the magnetic core, and the core pieces in p articular.

In the case of using a cold setting elastic adhesive or an elastic gapmember made of rubber or the like as described above, the materialinterposed between the core pieces is a solid body, thus transmittingvibration more easily than a gaseous body.

Furthermore, in the case of using an elastic gap member made of rubberor the like and not using an adhesive as described above, themanufacturability degrades.

Specifically, in order to maintain the assembled state of the core pieceand the elastic gap members, it is necessary to provide the outer resinportion and also a separate member such as a plate spring or aband-shaped constriction member, thus increasing the number of processsteps due to the outer resin portion formation step, the separate memberdisposition step, and the like, thereby inviting a decrease inmanufacturability. In particular, the disposition of the plate springand constriction with the band-shaped constriction member are performedin resistance to the biasing force provided by the elastic gap member,thus degrading workability. In the case of using an elastic adhesive, acase is also conceivable in which, in the elastic adhesive curing step,a separate member is needed in order to constrict the magnetic core suchthat the core pieces are brought closer to each other in resistance tothe biasing force of the elastic adhesive in order to provide apredetermined gap length. The workability further degrades if amechanism for adjusting the constriction amount or the like is disposedin order to prevent the constriction member or the band-shapedconstriction member from excessively constricting the elastic gap memberor the elastic adhesive and crushing the elastic gap member or the like.

In view of this, an object of the present invention is to provide areactor that can reduce or alleviate stress that can be applied to themagnetic core, and also has excellent manufacturability.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a manufacturingmethod for a reactor that can easily manufacture a reactor that canreduce or alleviate stress that can be applied to the magnetic core.

SUMMARY

A reactor according to an aspect of the present invention includes: acoil; and a magnetic core that includes a plurality of core pieces and agap member interposed between at least one set of the core pieces, themagnetic core forming a closed magnetic circuit when the coil becomesexcited. At least one gap member is a resin foam gap member thatincludes, in a contact region that comes into contact with the corepieces, a resin foam portion constituted by resin foam.

A reactor manufacturing method according to an aspect of the presentinvention relates to a method for manufacturing a reactor by assemblingtogether a coil and a magnetic core that includes a plurality of corepieces, the method including a disposition step and a foaming stepdescribed below.

(Disposition step) A step of disposing an unfoamed resin sheet betweenadjacent core pieces among the plurality of core pieces.

(Foaming step) A step of causing the unfoamed resin sheet to foam in astate where a gap between the core pieces between which the unfoamedresin sheets are interposed is restricted according to a predeterminedgap length, to form a resin foam portion constituted by resin foambetween the core pieces.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

The above reactor can reduce or alleviate stress that can be applied tothe magnetic core, and also has excellent manufacturability.

The above manufacturing method for a reactor can easily manufacture areactor that can reduce or alleviate stress that can be applied to themagnetic core.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a reactor of a firstembodiment.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a manufacturingprocess for the reactor of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a reactor of a secondembodiment.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a manufacturingprocess for the reactor of the second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of a reactor of a thirdembodiment.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a manufacturingprocess for the reactor of the third embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of a reactor of a fourthembodiment.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a manufacturingprocess for the reactor of the fourth embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

First, embodiments of the present invention will be listed anddescribed.

(1) A reactor according to an aspect of the present invention includes:a coil; and a magnetic core that includes a plurality of core pieces anda gap member interposed between at least one set of the core pieces, themagnetic core forming a closed magnetic circuit when the coil becomesexcited. At least one gap member is a resin foam gap member thatincludes, in a contact region that comes into contact with the corepieces, a resin foam portion constituted by resin foam.

In the above reactor, for the following reasons, it is possible tosuppress damage such as breakage of portions of the core pieces in thevicinity of connections between the core pieces caused by stress thatcan be generated and applied due to vibration or the like during use.Also, for the following reasons, the above reactor has excellentmanufacturability as well.

Damage Suppression Through Vibration Absorption and Stress Alleviation

The above reactor includes, between at least one set of core pieces, theresin foam gap member that includes the resin foam portion. The resinfoam portion has undergone volumetric expansion in which the foamedresin contains air bubbles. In other words, it can be said that both asolid, which is the resin, and a gas, which is the air bubbles, areinterposed between the core pieces. A gas is generally less likely totransmit vibration than a solid. For this reason, due to air bubblesbeing interposed between the core pieces, it is possible to reduce thetransmission of vibration to the magnetic core (possible to absorbvibration) in comparison with the case of only a solid being interposedby the core pieces. Thus, it is possible to reduce or alleviate stressthat is generated by vibration or the like and can be applied to thereactor. Even in the case where a portion of the magnetic core otherthan connection portions between the core pieces is used for attachmentto the installation target, by reducing and absorbing theabove-described vibration, it is possible to reduce or alleviate stressthat is applied to the portions in the vicinity of connections betweenthe core pieces.

Favorable Manufacturability

By using an unfoamed resin sheet as described below, the aboveconfiguration has excellent workability.

For example, if an unfoamed resin sheet is used, the resin foam portioncan be formed easily. Here, the unfoamed resin sheet is thinner than thepredetermined gap between the core pieces. However, up to the time whenfoaming is completed for example, the resin sheet can be supported bysandwiching the unfoamed resin sheet between the core pieces. At thistime, it is desirable to dispose a restriction member or the like aroundthe assembled magnetic core such that the gap between the core pieces isthe predetermined gap length after foaming. Unlike a member used forconstricting the above-described elastic gap member or the like, it issufficient that the restriction member can simply hold the core pieceswith the predetermined gap therebetween and suppress separation of thecore pieces due to resin foaming, and therefore the restriction membercan have a simple configuration. Also, there is no need to be disposedin resistance to the biasing force of elastic members, and therestriction member can be disposed easily.

In particular, if an unfoamed resin sheet that has adhesiveness is used,the state of being adhered to the core pieces and the later-describedgap plate can be maintained by the resin sheet itself. For this reason,the coil and the core pieces with the unfoamed resin sheet attachedthereto are assembled easily, the resin sheet is unlikely to undergopositional shift in the foaming step, there is no need to dispose asupport member or the like for the resin sheet, thus achieving even moreexcellent workability. Even if the above-described restriction member isused when necessary, the restriction member can be disposed easily asdescribed above, thus achieving excellent workability.

Furthermore, the thickness of the unfoamed resin sheet is different fromthe thickness of the resin foam portion included in the reactor, theresin sheet is thin, and the resin foam portion is thick. By using amaterial whose thickness changes in the manufacturing process in thisway, there is no need to precisely adjust the thickness of the resinsheet. For example, in the case where the gap length is short, if adifficult-to-machine material such as an alumina plate is used as thegap member, precise polishing needs to be performed, and workabilitydegrades. Extremely thin unfoamed resin sheets (e.g., 200 μm or less)are available, and by using a resin sheet that is thin but has asufficiently large expansion rate, it is possible to ensure thepredetermined gap length after foaming. Also, even if there isdimensional error in the core pieces, or there is dimensional error inthe gap plate when using the later-described gap plate, for example,such dimensional error can be absorbed by the volumetric expansion ofthe resin foam, thus making it possible to use a core piece or a gapplate having somewhat low dimensional precision. In this way, materialselection can be performed easily, and workability is excellent.

(2) In one example of an aspect of the above reactor, at least one resinfoam gap member is entirely constituted by the resin foam portion.

In the above aspect, the resin foam gap member that is substantiallyentirely constituted by resin foam is provided between at least one setof core pieces. This resin foam gap member contains a large amount ofair bubbles, and many air bubbles exist between the core pieces, andtherefore this aspect is able to further alleviate the above-describedstress. Also, in the above aspect, the resin foam gap member can beeasily formed by causing the unfoamed resin sheet, which is interposedbetween the core piece, to foam in accordance with the gap between thecore pieces, thus reducing the number of assembly parts, and achievingeven more excellent manufacturability. All of the gap members includedin the magnetic core can be the resin foam gap member that issubstantially entirely constituted by resin foam (hereinafter, sometimescalled a single-layer gap member).

(3) In one example of an aspect of the above reactor, at least one resinfoam gap member includes a gap plate and the resin foam portion providedon one surface or two surfaces of the gap plate.

In the above aspect, the resin foam gap member that is constituted bythe gap plate that substantially does not contain air bubbles and by theresin foam portion that contains air bubbles is provided between atleast one set of core pieces. By providing the resin foam portion incontact with the core pieces, the above aspect is capable of alleviatingthe above-described stress. Also, in the above aspect, by providing thegap plate, the thickness of the resin foam portion can be reduced, thefoaming time of the unfoamed resin sheet can be shortened, and it ispossible to use a gap plate that has somewhat low dimensional precisionas described above, and therefore manufacturability is excellent. All ofthe gap members included in the magnetic core can be the resin foam gapmember that includes the gap plate and the resin foam portion(hereinafter, sometimes called a multilayer gap member). In the casewhere the magnetic core includes a plurality of gap members, it ispossible to include a combination of the single-layer gap memberdescribed in (2) and the multilayer gap member described here in (3).

(4) In one example of an aspect of the above reactor, only one resinfoam gap member is provided.

In the above aspect, the resin foam gap member is provided at onelocation in the magnetic core, and therefore there is a lower number ofsteps for disposing the unfoamed resin sheet between the core pieces inthe manufacturing process, there are fewer portions where gaprestriction between the core pieces is needed, and it is possible toprecisely restrict the gap between the core piece, thus achieving evenmore excellent manufacturability. Depending on the shape of the corepieces, it is possible to eliminate the need for a member forrestricting the gap, and manufacturability is excellent in view of thisas well.

(5) In one example of an aspect of the above reactor, a constituentmaterial constituting the core pieces is a composite material thatincludes a soft magnetic powder and a resin.

Although there are cases where a core piece constituted by a compositematerial has lower strength than the case of being constituted by apowder compact, a magnetic steel plate, or the like as described above,in the above aspect, the resin foam gap member that includes the resinfoam portion is provided, thus making it possible to alleviate theabove-described stress.

Also, the composite material contains a resin, and therefore it iseasier to obtain a core piece that has a lower relative permeabilitythan in the case of using a powder compact, a magnetic steel plate, orthe like, and the gap length can be easily shorted in the magnetic coreof the above aspect. Even in the case where the gap length is short, byusing the resin foam gap member, material selection can be performedeasily as described above, and therefore manufacturability is alsoexcellent.

Alternatively, in the case where the gap length is short, even if thecoil is disposed close to a portion of the magnetic core that isdisposed inside the winding portion, it is possible to reduce loss(ohmic loss) caused by flux leakage. Also, in the case of providing asurface resin layer mainly constituted by resin contained in thecomposite material, the surface resin layer can be used as an insulationlayer for insulation from the coil. For this reason, in the aboveaspect, the coil and the magnetic core can be close to each other, andcompactness can be achieved.

(6) A reactor manufacturing method according to an aspect of the presentinvention relates to a method for manufacturing a reactor by assemblingtogether a coil and a magnetic core that includes a plurality of corepieces, the method including a disposition step and a foaming stepdescribed below.

(Disposition step) A step of disposing an unfoamed resin sheet betweenadjacent core pieces among the plurality of core pieces.

(Foaming step) A step of causing the unfoamed resin sheet to foam in astate where a gap between the core pieces between which the unfoamedresin sheets are interposed is restricted according to a predeterminedgap length, to form a resin foam portion constituted by resin foambetween the core pieces.

In the above reactor manufacturing method, a reactor that includes aresin foam portion between core pieces can be manufactured by the simplestep of causing an unfoamed resin sheet to foam while restricting thegap between the core pieces in which the resin sheet is interposed. Thisreactor includes the resin foam portion, thus making it possible toreduce or alleviate stress that can be applied to the magnetic coreduring use as described above.

Also, up to the time when foaming is completed for example, the unfoamedresin sheet interposed between the core pieces can be supported bysandwiching the unfoamed resin sheet between the set of core piecesthemselves that are disposed facing each other, and even in the case ofusing a restriction member, it is possible to suppress separation of thecore pieces from each other that accompanies foaming as described above,thus making it possible to easily dispose the restriction member. If theunfoamed resin sheet has adhesiveness sufficient to enable maintainingthe state of being adhered to the core piece, or in the case of using agap plate, has adhesiveness sufficient to enable maintaining the statewhere the resin sheet is adhered to the gap plate, it is possible toalso easily perform assembly of the coil and the core pieces which theresin sheet is adhered. Furthermore, there are cases where it ispossible to omit the restriction member and the disposition step for thesame. Additionally, by using the unfoamed resin sheet, it is possible touse core pieces and a gap plate that have somewhat low dimensionalprecision as described above. In view of the above, the abovemanufacturing method for a reactor can easily manufacture a reactor thatcan reduce or alleviate stress that can be applied to the magnetic core.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

Hereinafter, reactors according to embodiments of the present inventionwill be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Referencesigns that are the same in the drawings denote elements that have thesame name. In the descriptions in the following embodiments, theinstalled state is the state in which the lower face of reactors 1A to1D shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 5, and 7 are the installation faces. Thisinstalled state is an illustrative example, and a side face or the likecan be the installation face. Also, in FIGS. 1, 3, 5, and 7, portions ofthe turns of coils 2A and 2C have been cut away so as to expose foamingresin gap members 35A, 35B, 35C, and 35D and the vicinity thereof in thewinding portions 2 a and 2 c. In FIGS. 2, 4, 6, and 8, unfoamed resinsheets 350 and 352 are shown with an increased thickness in order tofacilitate understanding.

First Embodiment

A reactor 1A of a first embodiment will be described below withreference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

Reactor

Overall Configuration

The reactor 1A includes a coil 2A that has a pair of winding portions 2a and 2 b obtained by winding a winding wire 2 w into a spiral shape,and a magnetic core 3A that has a plurality of core pieces 30A and aplurality of gap members interposed between the core pieces 30A. Themagnetic core 3A is disposed inside and outside of the winding portions2 a and 2 b, and forms a closed magnetic circuit when the coil 2Abecomes excited. The reactor 1A is typically used in a state of beingattached to an installation target such as a converter case with use ofa fixing member (not shown) such as a bolt. A feature of the reactor 1Ais that at least one of the gap members is a resin foam gap member 35Athat includes a resin foam portion 35 constituted by a resin foamportion. Another feature is that the resin foam gap member 35A in thisexample includes one gap plate 355 and resin foam portions 35respectively provided on the two surfaces of the gap plate 355. Afurther feature in this example is that the constituent material of thecore pieces 30A is a composite material that includes a soft magneticpowder and a resin. The constituent elements will be describedindividually below.

Coil

As shown in FIG. 2, the coil 2A in this example has a pair of tubularwinding portions 2 a and 2 b formed by winding one continuous windingwire 2 w into a spiral shape, and a joining portion 2 r that is formedby a portion of the winding wire 2 w and connects the two windingportions 2 a and 2 b. The winding portions 2 a and 2 b are disposed inparallel (side-by-side) such that their axes are parallel to each other.

The winding wire 2 w in this example is a coated rectangular wire(so-called enameled wire) that has a rectangular wire conductor (e.g.,copper) and an insulating coating (e.g., polyamide imide) that surroundsthe conductor, and the winding portions 2 a and 2 b are edgewise coils.The winding portions 2 a and 2 b in this example are shaped as squaretubes that have rounded corners, and the inner peripheral faces thereofare each constituted by four flat faces and four curved faces thatconnect adjacent flat faces to each other (faces that form the cornerportions).

The two end portions of the winding wire 2 w are each lead out in anappropriate direction from the winding portions 2 a and 2 b, areprovided with a terminal clamp (not shown), and are electricallyconnected to an external apparatus such as a power supply (not shown).

Magnetic Core

Overview

The magnetic core 3A includes a pair of U-shaped core pieces 30A asshown in FIG. 2. The core pieces 30A have the same shape, and eachinclude short columnar portions (hereinafter, called core-insertionprojection portions 31A) that are disposed so as to be inserted into thewinding portions 2 a and 2 b, and a columnar outer core portion 32A thatis disposed so as to project from the coil 2A, and on which the coil 2Ais substantially not disposed. The core pieces 30A are each a solid bodyin which a pair of core-insertion projection portions 31A project froman inward end face 32 e of the outer core portion 32A. Thecore-insertion projection portions 31A in this example are shaped as acuboid with rounded corners, and the outer core portions 32A are shapedas rectangular columns having a trapezoidal upper face and lower face.The magnetic core 3A is obtained by assembling the two core pieces 30Ato each other in a ring shape in which the end faces 31 e of thecore-insertion projection portions 31A face each other. When assembledinto a ring shape, a gap corresponding to a gap length is providedbetween the end faces 31 e of the core-insertion projection portions 31Aof one of the core pieces 30A and the end faces 31 e of thecore-insertion projection portions 31A of the other core piece 30A, andthis gap is the location where one gap member is disposed. The magneticcore 3A in this example has two of the aforementioned gaps, and includesa total of two gap members.

Core Piece

The core pieces 30A in this example are each constituted by a compositematerial that includes a soft magnetic powder and a resin. Thiscomposite material is molded using injection molding, cast molding, orthe like. When using injection molding, molding can be performed easilyeven in the case of a complex solid shape such as a shape havingrecession portions 31 r in portions as will be described later. A softmagnetic material powder made of a metal such as iron or an iron alloy(e.g., Fe—Si alloy or Fe—Ni allow), a non-metal such as ferrite, or thelike can be suitably used as the soft magnetic powder. The resin servingas the binder in the composite material can be a thermosetting resinsuch as epoxy resin, or a thermoplastic resin such as polyphenylenesulfide (PPS) resin. Based on 100 volume percent of the compositematerial, the amount of soft magnetic powder contained in the compositematerial is 20 volume percent to 80 volume percent inclusive, or 30volume percent to 70 volume percent inclusive, for example. Theremaining portion is mainly a non-metallic organic material such as theaforementioned resins. In addition to the aforementioned resins, theremaining portion can further include a non-metallic inorganic materialsuch as a ceramic (alumina, silica, etc.) for example (e.g., based on100 volume percent of the composite material, 0.2 volume percent to 20volume percent inclusive).

The magnetic properties of the composite material can be easily adjustedby adjusting the contained amounts of the soft magnetic powder, resin,non-metallic inorganic material, or the like. Due to including anonmagnetic material such as a resin, the composite material tends tohave a low relative permeability. With a magnetic core that includescore pieces having a low relative permeability, it is easier to reducethe gap length, and it is possible to reduce flux leakage in the gapportion. In a high-current application for example, providing asufficient gap makes it unlikely for magnetic saturation to occur.

The core pieces 30A that are constituted by the composite material caninclude a surface resin layer (may contain the above-described ceramics)that is substantially formed by the resin in the composite material.

The shape of the core pieces 30A can be selected as desired. Besides theU shape described in this example, it is possible to use an E shape asin third and fourth embodiments that are described later, for example.Also, in this example, the lower faces of the outer core portions 32Aproject beyond the lower faces of the core-insertion projection portions31A and are substantially planer with the lower faces of the windingportions 2 a and 2 b of the coil 2A. For this reason, the installationface of the reactor 1A is mainly constituted by the lower faces of theouter core portions 32A of the two core pieces 30A and the lower facesof the winding portions 2 a and 2 b. Due to being formed by both thecoil 2A and the magnetic core 3A, the installation face of the reactor1A has a sufficiently large installation surface area and has excellentstability. If the installation target includes a cooling mechanism, theinstallation face of the reactor 1A also functions as a heat dissipationface, and the reactor 1A will be excellent in terms of heat dissipationperformance as well.

Gap Member

The gap members each have a thickness that is set according to thepredetermined gap length. In the case of using a plurality of gapmembers, the thicknesses of the gap members can be values obtained byequally dividing the total gap length. In this example, the gap memberseach have the same thickness. Also, each gap member is a resin foam gapmember 35A. The resin foam gap member 35A includes resin foam portions35 in the contact regions that come into contact with the core pieces30A, and includes a gap plate 355 at an intermediate position in thethickness direction.

The resin foam gap members 35A in this example each have the sameconfiguration and same size. Each is specifically configured as athree-layer multilayer gap member that includes one gap plate 355interposed between the end faces 31 e of the core-insertion projectionportions 31A of a pair of core pieces 30A, a resin foam portion 35 thatis interposed between one face of the gap plate 355 and the end face 31e of the core-insertion projection portion of one of the core pieces30A, and a resin foam portion 35 that is interposed between the otherface of the gap plate 355 and the end face 31 e of the core-insertionprojection portion of the other core piece 30A. The resin foam portions35 and the core pieces 30A as well as the resin foam portions 35 and thegap plate 355 are in close contact with each other due to volumeexpansion of the resin foam portions 35. Furthermore, in this example,the resin foam portions 35 have adhesiveness, and the resin foamportions 35 are in close contact with the core pieces 30A and the gapplate 355 due to the adhesive force of the resin foam portions 35themselves as well. The magnetic core 3A is maintained in a ring shapeby this close contact. For this reason, the resin foam portions 35 alsofunction as an adhesive for integrating the magnetic core 3A, and thereis no need to separately provide an adhesive for bonding the core pieces30A to each other (the same follows in the later-described thirdembodiment as well).

Gap Plate

The gap plate 355 is a member that suppresses magnetic saturation of themagnetic core 3A, and has a lower relative permeability than the corepieces 30A. The gap plate 355 can be constituted by substantially only anonmagnetic material, by a mixture of a nonmagnetic material and a softmagnetic material, or the like. Examples of the nonmagnetic materialinclude a non-metallic inorganic material such as alumina, and anon-metallic organic material typified by a resin such as unsaturatedpolyester or PPS resin. Examples of the mixture include a mixturecontaining PPS resin and a soft magnetic powder such as iron powder. Itis preferable that the gap plate 355 containing resin has excellent heatresistance to the extent of being able to withstand the temperaturereached during heat treatment for forming the resin foam portions 35.

The shape and size of the gap plate 355 can be selected as desired. In arepresentative example, as shown in FIG. 2, the gap plate 355 hassubstantially the same shape as the end faces 31 e of the core-insertionprojection portions 31A of the core pieces 30A, and has the same size asor a smaller size than the surface area of the end faces 31 e. In thiscase, the peripheral edge of the gap plate 355 does not projectcircumferentially outward from the core-insertion projection portions31A, and a compact magnetic core 3A can be obtained.

Resin Foam Portion

The resin foam portions 35 are constituted by a plurality of air bubblesand a resin in which the air bubbles are contained. Due to beingdisposed adjacent to the coil 2A, it is preferable that this resin hasexcellent electrical insulation performance and has excellent heatresistance (e.g., 150° C. or more, or furthermore 180° C. or more) withrespect to the highest temperature reached by the coil 2A. In the casewhere the reactor 1A is directly cooled by a liquid coolant or the likeduring use, it is preferable that the resin has excellent resistance tothe liquid coolant or the like. Specific examples of the resin includePPS, nylon, and epoxy resin.

The resin foam portions 35 can be formed easily by using an unfoamedresin sheet 350 (FIG. 2; described in detail later) that has been cut toa predetermined shape and size, for example. The resin sheets 350 havinga predetermined shape are caused to foam while being sandwiched betweenthe core pieces 30A, thus forming the resin foam portions 35. For thisreason, the shape of the resin foam portions 35 roughly resembles theshape of the gap plate 355 and the end faces 31 e of the core-insertionprojection portions 31A of the core pieces 30A, and is flatplate-shaped.

Thickness Percentage

The percentage of the thickness of the resin foam portions 35 in thethickness of one resin foam gap member 35A (hereinafter, called thethickness percentage) can be selected as desired. The resin foam gapmember can be constituted by substantially only resin foam as with aresin foam gap member 35B shown in the later-described secondembodiment, and therefore the upper limit of the thickness percentage is100%. As the thickness percentage increases, as the proportion of theresin foam portions 35 increases, and as the proportion of the gap plate355 decreases, the greater the number of air bubbles between the corepieces 30A is, and the better the stress alleviation performance thatcan be expected is. On the other hand, as the thickness percentagedecreases, and as the proportion of the gap plate 355 increases, theshorter the foaming time required for forming the resin foam portions 35can be set, and the better the manufacturability is. Examples of thethickness percentage include 10% to 90% inclusive, and furthermore 30%to 70% inclusive. In this example, the thickness percentage isapproximately 67% (the same follows in the later-described thirdembodiment as well).

Reactor Manufacturing Method

An example of a method for manufacturing the reactor 1A will bedescribed below with reference to FIG. 2 mainly.

For example, it is possible to use the unfoamed resin sheets 350 inorder to manufacture the reactor 1A that includes the resin foam gapmembers 35A that include the resin foam portions 35. Unfoamed resinsheets having a desired shape and size can be prepared by performingcutting, are easier to handle than a liquid adhesive or the like, andhave excellent workability due to being able to be easily disposed atpredetermined positions. Also, by merely disposing the unfoamed resinsheets, it is possible to easily form unfoamed resin layers that have auniform thickness, and thus unfoamed resin sheets have excellentworkability in view of this as well. The unfoamed resin sheets 350 arethinner than the foamed resin foam portions 35, and have excellentflexibility and can be easily disposed at locations having any shape,and thus unfoamed resin sheets have excellent workability in view ofthis as well. Due to having excellent manufacturability in this way, thereactor manufacturing method of the first embodiment uses the unfoamedresin sheets 350. First, the unfoamed resin sheets 350 will bedescribed.

Unfoamed Resin Sheet

A commercially available or known resin sheet can be used for theunfoamed resin sheets 350. One example is a resin sheet that is made ofa resin containing capsule particles that are filled with a liquid, andthe resin is caused to expand by performing heating to vaporize theliquid such that the capsules expand. Also, if the unfoamed resin sheets350 are in a semi-solidified state, a semi-cured state, or the like andhave adhesiveness to a certain extent, it is possible to easily maintainthe state where the resin sheets 350 are adhered to the gap plate 355and the end faces 31 e of the core-insertion projection portions 31A ofthe core pieces 30A, and therefore this is preferable. For example, in afoaming step and when assembling together the coil 2A, the core pieces30A, and the laminated member including the unfoamed resin sheets 350and the gap plate 355, it is possible to prevent the laminated memberfrom falling off the core pieces 30A, prevent the gap plate 355 fromdetaching from the laminated member, and the like, and this achievesexcellent assembly workability and manufacturability. If a resin sheetthat contains an adhesive component or has an adhesive layer is used forthe unfoamed resin sheets 350, they can be firmly bonded to the corepieces 30A and the gap plate 355 by the adhesive force of the foamedresin foam portions 35. It is desirable that release paper is attachedto the adhesive layer in advance, and that the release paper is removedwhen disposing the resin sheets 350 on the core pieces 30A and the gapplate 355. By stacking a plurality of resin sheets that include anadhesive layer and then performing foaming, it is possible to easilyform resin foam portions 35 that have a desired thickness even in thecase where the resin sheet has a thin resin layer or has a low expansionrate.

The pre-foam thickness and expansion rate of the unfoamed resin sheets350 can be selected from a range in which it is possible to ensure avolumetric expansion amount according to which the total thickness ofthe foamed resin foam portions 35 satisfies a thickness obtained bysubtracting the thickness of the gap plate 355 from the predeterminedgap length set between the two core pieces 30A. The expansion rate isobtained by the following expression: thickness of resin foam portionafter foaming/thickness of unfoamed resin sheet before foaming. If thevolumetric expansion amount may be low to a certain extent, such as inthe case of including the gap plate 355 between the resin foam gapmembers 35A or the like as in this example and the later-described thirdembodiment or the like, the expansion rate can be set in the range ofapproximately 1.5 to 2 inclusive. In this case, the foaming time can beshortened, and thus has excellent manufacturability. If the volumetricexpansion amount needs to be high to a certain extent, as in thelater-described second and fourth embodiments for example, the expansionrate can be set in the range of 2 to 5 inclusive, or furthermore 3 ormore, 4 or more, or 4.5 or more. The thickness of the unfoamed resinsheets 350 is set to 0.2 mm or more, for example.

It is desirable that the unfoamed resin sheets 350 are adjusted suchthat the resin foam portions 35 have a predetermined shape and sizeafter foaming. In a representative example, if the unfoamed resin sheets350 are set to the same size as or slightly smaller than the size of thesurface of the gap plate 355 or the size of the end faces 31 e of thecore-insertion projection portions 31A of the core pieces 30A that formthe space for the resin foam portions 35, the unfoamed resin sheets 350can be disposed easily, and it is possible to suppress the amount ofleakage from around the core pieces 30A after foaming. Resin foam thatleaks from around the core pieces 30A can be used for bonding with thecore pieces 30A. FIG. 2 shows an example in which the unfoamed resinsheets 350 and the gap plate 355 have the same shape and same size, thatis to say have a size and shape (rectangular with rounded corners) thatcorrespond to the end faces 31 e of the rounded-corner cuboidcore-insertion projection portions 31A of the core pieces 30A.

Manufacturing Method

The reactor manufacturing method of the first embodiment includes adisposition step in which the coil 2A and the pair of core pieces 30Aare assembled together, and laminated members that include the unfoamedresin sheets 350 are disposed between the adjacent core pieces 30A, anda foaming step in which the resin sheets 350 are caused to foam byperforming heat treatment necessary for foaming in a state where the gapbetween the core pieces 30A is restricted in accordance with thepredetermined gap length.

Preparation Step

In this example, the coil 2A, the U-shaped core pieces 30A, a pluralityof unfoamed resin sheets 350, and gap plates 355 are prepared. Also, twolaminated members, which have a three-layer structure in which thesurfaces of the gap plate 355 are sandwiched by unfoamed resin sheets350, are prepared.

Disposition Step

For example, the two core-insertion projection portions 31A of one corepiece 30A are inserted into the opening portions on one side of thewinding portions 2 a and 2 b of the coil 2A. Next, the laminated membershaving the three-layer structure are inserted into the opening portionson the other side of the winding portions 2 a and 2 b until they abutagainst the end faces 31 e of the core-insertion projection portions31A, and then the two core-insertion projection portions 31A of theother core piece 30A are inserted into the same opening portions.Accordingly, the laminated members are clamped by the end faces 31 e ofthe core-insertion projection portions 31A that face each other in thetwo core pieces 30A.

In the case where the unfoamed resin sheets 350 have adhesiveness, theresin sheets 350 are adhered to the respective end faces 31 e of thecore-insertion projection portions 31A of one core piece 30A, and thenthe coil 2A and the other core piece 30A are assembled together with theone core piece 30A on which the resin sheets 350 are disposed.Accordingly, the resin sheets 350 of the laminated members having thethree-layer structure can be adhered to the respective end faces 31 e ofthe core-insertion projection portions 31A that face each other in thetwo core pieces 30A. Due to the adhesiveness of the resin sheets 350themselves, the state where the laminated members are interposed betweenthe end faces 31 e can be maintained even more reliably.

Foaming Step

The gap between the core pieces 30A for disposition of the laminatedmember that has the three-layer structure and includes the unfoamedresin sheets 350, or more specifically the gap between the end faces 31e of the core-insertion projection portions 31A that face each other, isrestricted according to the predetermined gap length in order to be ableto maintain the gap at the predetermined gap length. For example, theouter end faces or the like of the outer core portions 32A of the corepieces 30A are clamped with a restriction member (not shown). In thisrestricted state, heat treatment for foaming is performed to cause theresin sheets 350 to foam, thus forming the resin foam portions 35 thatare constituted by resin foam.

It is desirable that the holding time and heating temperature in theheat treatment are appropriately selected according to the type of resinand the like so as to obtain the predetermined gap length. For example,the heating temperature is approximately in the range of 100° C. to 170°C. inclusive. In the case of using a resin (sheet) that needs only a lowheating temperature and short holding time, it is possible to preventheat damage to the coil 2A and the magnetic core 3A (particularly theresin component) during heat treatment, and therefore this ispreferable. Also, using a resin (sheet) that can foam at a lowtemperature and in a short time contributes to an improvement inmanufacturability and also a reduction in cost.

After foaming, in this example, the resin foam portions 35 arerespectively formed on the two surfaces of each of the gap plates 355.The foamed resin is interposed between the end faces 31 e of thecore-insertion projection portions 31A that face each other, and is alsoin close contact with both the gap plate 355 and the end faces 31 e ofthe core-insertion projection portions 31A. If the unfoamed resin sheets350 have an adhesive component or an adhesive layer, they can be firmlyadhered to both the gap plate 355 and the end faces 31 e of thecore-insertion projection portions 31A by the adhesive layer or theadhesive force of the adhesive.

Through the above-described foaming step, it is possible to manufacturethe reactor 1A that includes the resin foam gap members 35A (multilayergap members), which each include the gap plate 355 and the resin foamportions 35, that are disposed between the core-insertion projectionportions 31A of adjacent core pieces 30A.

Actions and Effects Based on Main Feature Portions

In the reactor 1A of the first embodiment, at least one of the gapmembers is the resin foam gap member 35A that includes the resin foamportion 35 containing air bubbles, and therefore stress that arises fromvibration or the like and can be applied to the reactor 1A during usecan be reduced or alleviated by the resin foam gap member 35A.Accordingly, with the reactor 1A, it is possible to suppress damage suchas breakage to portions in the vicinity of the connections between thecore pieces 30A caused by this stress. In particular, even in the casewhere portions of the magnetic core 3A that are not in the vicinity ofthe connections between the core pieces 30A, such as the outer coreportions 32A, are used for attachment to the installation target, it ispossible to effectively suppress damage to the portions in the vicinityof the connections between the core pieces 30A.

Also, due to using the laminated member that includes the unfoamed resinsheets 350 and the gap plate 355, the reactor 1A can be manufacturedeasily, and has excellent manufacturability as well. In the case wherethe unfoamed resin sheets 350 have adhesiveness, the state of contactbetween the core pieces 30A and the resin sheets 350, and the state ofcontact between the gap plate 355 and the resin sheets 350 can bemaintained by the resin sheets 350 themselves, and therefore the coil 2Aand the magnetic core 3A can be assembled easily, there is no need for asupport jig or the like for the resin sheets 350 during foaming, andthis configuration has excellent manufacturability. Dimensional error ofthe core pieces 30A and the gap plate 355 can be absorbed by thevolumetric expansion of the resin foam, and there is no need to performprecise dimensional adjustment, thus making it possible to shorten oreliminate the adjustment time, and this configuration has excellentmanufacturability in view of this as well. In the reactor 1A of thisexample, the resin foam portions 35 function as an adhesive for bondingthe core pieces 30A to each other, and therefore there is no need toseparately provide an adhesive for integrating the magnetic core 3A, andthis configuration has excellent manufacturability in view of this aswell.

Furthermore, the core pieces 30A are each constituted by a compositematerial, and therefore for the following reasons, the reactor 1A ofthis example has even more excellent manufacturability, and is alsocompact. Also, even in the case of further including later-describedcoil fixing portions 4A, for the following reasons, the reactor 1A ofthis example has excellent manufacturability.

Manufacturability

1. It is possible to omit, for example, a resin covering member for thecore pieces 30A such as an outer resin portion or an insulatingintervening member that is called an insulator, a bobbin, or the likeand is interposed between the core-insertion projection portions 31A andthe winding portions 2 a and 2 b of the coil 2A, and it is possible toomit a covering step and an insulating intervening member dispositionstep.

2. Even if the gap length is reduced, there is no need to preciselyadjust the thickness of the gap plate 355.

3. The foaming step of forming the resin foam portions 35 and thefoaming step for a later-described coil fixing portions 4A can beperformed at the same time.

Compactness

In the case where the gap length can be set relatively short easily,there is little flux leakage in the gap portions, and the surface resinlayer mainly constituted by the resin in the composite material can beused as the insulation layer for insulation from the winding portions 2a and 2 b, it is possible to dispose the winding portions 2 a and 2 band the core-insertion projection portions 31A close each other.

Other Configurations

The reactor 1A of this example further includes coil fixing portions 4Athat are constituted by resin foam in the tubular inner peripheralspaces between the inner peripheral faces of the winding portions 2 aand 2 b of the coil 2A and the outer peripheral faces of the portions ofthe magnetic core 3A that are disposed inside the winding portions 2 aand 2 b (here, the outer peripheral faces of the core-insertionprojection portions 31A). By volumetric expansion of the resin foam, thecoil fixing portions 4A restrict movement of the coil 2A such asdeformation in the diameter direction, elongation and contraction in theaxial direction, and rotation in the circumferential direction, and itis possible to prevent positional shift of the coil 2A relative to themagnetic core 3A caused by such movement of the coil 2A.

The above-described unfoamed resin sheets 40A can be used in theformation of the coil fixing portions 4A. It is desirable that the resinsheets 40A are disposed at predetermined positions on the outerperipheral faces of the core-insertion projection portions 31A andassembled together with the coil 2A, and then heat treatment for foamingis performed thereafter. This heat treatment can be performed at thesame time as the heat treatment for forming the above-described resinfoam gap members 35A. Accordingly, in an aspect including the coilfixing portions 4A, the reactor 1A can be manufactured by adding adisposition step for the resin sheets 40A, and this aspect has excellentmanufacturability. In the case where the resin sheets 40A haveadhesiveness, the reactor 1A has excellent workability for assemblytogether with the coil 2A as well. In the case where the resin sheets40A have an adhesive component or an adhesive layer, the coil fixingportions 4A can come into close contact with the coil 2A and themagnetic core 3A after foaming.

Due to volumetric expansion by foaming, portions of the resin foam canenter the spaces between adjacent turns of the winding portions 2 a and2 b of the coil 2A. This resin foam that enters the spaces between turnsalso constitutes portions of the coil fixing portions 4A.

If recession portions 31 r are included at predetermined positions inthe outer peripheral faces of the core-insertion projection portions 31Aas shown in FIG. 2, the unfoamed resin sheets 40A can be positionedeasily, and therefore this is preferable. It is desirable that the shapeand size of the recession portion 31 r are selected according to theshape and size of the resin sheets 40A. In particular, if the recessionportions 31 r are provided in a very shallow manner in the vicinity ofthe outer peripheral faces of the core-insertion projection portions 31Aas shown in FIG. 2, it is possible to suppress a reduction in themagnetic path area that accompanies the formation of the recessionportions 31 r. Also, if the depth is greater than or equal to thethickness of the resin sheets 40A, the resin sheets 40A are unlikely tofall out of the recession portions 31 r during assembly together withthe coil 2 or the like, and are unlikely to become positionally shifteddue to coming into contact with the inner peripheral faces of thewinding portions 2 a and 2 b of the coil 2, and therefore this ispreferable. In view of these points, it is thought to be preferable thatthe depth of the recession portions 31 r is approximately greater thanor equal to the thickness of the resin sheets 40A, and less than orequal to 1.3 times the thickness of the resin sheets 40A.

The range in which the coil fixing portions 4A are provided in theabove-described inner peripheral spaces can be changed as desired.Besides the aspect in which one coil fixing portion 4A that iscontinuous in the circumferential direction is provided in the internalspace as in this example, an aspect is possible in which a plurality ofcoil fixing portions that are discontinuous in the circumferentialdirection are provided in the internal space. In the former continuousaspect, the number of unfoamed resin sheets 40A that are used is small,the number of disposition steps is small, and manufacturability isexcellent. In the latter discontinuous aspect, the coil fixing portionscan be formed in only portions that are unlikely to influence themagnetic path (corner portions or the like in this example).

In this example, the coil fixing portions 4A are [shaped or] shaped andextend along a total of three flat portions including the upper andlower flat portions and the outer flat portion in the above-describedinner peripheral space, and the two corners portions that connect thethree flat portions to each other. When forming these coil fixingportions 4A, as shown in FIG. 2, it is desirable to dispose the resinsheets 40A so as to cover the faces other than the adjacent inward facesamong the outer peripheral faces of the cuboid core-insertion projectionportions 31A, which is three faces here, namely the upper and lowerfaces and the outward face, and the two corner portions that connectthese three faces. Even if the gap between the adjacent core-insertionprojection portions 31A is narrow, the resin sheets 40A can be disposedeasily, and manufacturability is excellent. In this example, onerecession portion 31 r is provided at the formation location (regionextending along the above-described three faces and two corner portions)of the coil fixing portion 4A in the outer peripheral face of onecore-insertion projection portion 31A, and therefore the resin sheets40A can be disposed even more easily.

The later-described second and third embodiments illustrate aspects inwhich, similarly to the present example, one coil fixing portion 4B or4C that is continuous in the circumferential direction is provided inthe space between an inner peripheral face of the coil and an opposingface of the magnetic core (FIGS. 3 and 5), and the later-describedfourth embodiment illustrates an aspect in which a plurality of coilfixing portions 4D are provided in the circumferential direction.

If the space in which the coil fixing portions 4A to 4D are not providedin the inner peripheral space is used as a contact area for contact withthe previously-described liquid coolant, or a storage area for aseparately-prepared heat dissipation sheet (not shown), heat dissipationperformance is improved.

Second Embodiment

A reactor 1B of a second embodiment will be described below withreference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

The basic configuration of the reactor 1B of the second embodiment issimilar to that of the reactor 1A of the first embodiment, and includesa coil 2A that includes a pair of winding portions 2 a and 2 b, and amagnetic core 3B that includes two U-shaped core pieces 30B and two gapmembers interposed between the core pieces 30B. The gap members are boththe resin foam gap member 35B that includes the resin foam portion 35.One difference in the reactor 1B of the second embodiment from the firstembodiment is that the resin foam gap member 35B is entirely constitutedby the resin foam portion 35 and does not include the gap plate 355(FIG. 2). The following describes this difference in detail, anddetailed descriptions have been omitted for overlapping configurationsand effects.

The resin foam gap members 35B in this example each have the sameconfiguration and same size, and are single-layer gap members that areentirely constituted by resin foam. The resin foam gap members 35B areeach interposed between the end face 31 e of the core-insertionprojection portion 31B of one of the core pieces 30B that face eachother and the end face 31 e of the core-insertion projection portion 31Bof the other core piece 30B, and have a thickness that corresponds tothe predetermined gap length. The resin foam gap member 35B is in closecontact with the two end faces 31 e due to volumetric expansion of theresin foam. Furthermore, in this example, the resin foam portions 35have adhesiveness, and the resin foam portions 35 are in close contactwith the core pieces 30B due to the adhesive force of the resin foamportions 35 themselves as well. For this reason, similarly to the firstembodiment, the resin foam portions 35 also function as an adhesive forintegrating the magnetic core 3B, and there is no need to separatelyprovide an adhesive for bonding the core pieces 30B to each other (thesame follows in the later-described fourth embodiment as well).

Similarly to the first embodiment, the resin foam gap members 35B (resinfoam portions 35) can be easily formed by using unfoamed resin sheets352. It is sufficient to use resin sheets 352 having an expansion rateaccording to which the thickness after foaming is approximately greaterthan or equal to the predetermined gap between the end faces 31 e of thecore-insertion projection portions 31B. Also, in the disposition stepdescribed in the first embodiment, it is sufficient that the unfoamedresin sheets 352 are disposed between the end faces 31 e of thecore-insertion projection portions 31B that face each other instead ofthe above-described laminated members having a three-layer structure,and it is sufficient that the subsequent steps are similar to those inthe first embodiment (FIG. 4).

In the reactor 1B of the second embodiment, at least one of the gapmembers is the resin foam gap member 35B that is constituted by resinfoam containing air bubbles, and therefore stress that arises fromvibration or the like and can be applied to the reactor 1B during usecan be reduced or alleviated by the resin foam gap member 35B. Also, thereactor 1B can be easily manufactured by disposing the unfoamed resinsheets 352 between the core pieces 30B and causing the resin sheets 352to foam in a state where the gap between the core pieces 30B isrestricted according to the gap length, and this configuration hasexcellent manufacturability as well. In the case where the unfoamedresin sheets 352 have adhesiveness, assembly workability and workabilityduring foaming are excellent, and this configuration has excellentmanufacturability in view of this as well. In particular, in the reactor1B of the second embodiment, the gap plate 355 is not provided, thusreducing the number of assembly parts in the manufacturing process forthe resin foam gap member 35B, and this configuration has excellentmanufacturability.

Also, the reactor 1B in this example has coil fixing portions 4B thatare Γ shaped or ¬ shaped and extend along the outer corner portion inthe inner peripheral space between the core-insertion projectionportions 31B and the winding portions 2 a and 2 b of the coil 2A and thetwo flat portions on respective sides of this corner portion. Onerecession portion 31 r is provided at the formation location (regionextending along the upper face, the upper corner portion, and theoutward side face connected to the corner portion) of the coil fixingportion 4B in the outer peripheral face of one core-insertion projectionportion 31B, and therefore the resin sheets 40B can be disposed evenmore easily (FIG. 4). The flat portion on the lower side (dispositionside) in the inner peripheral space and the space in the vicinitythereof can be used as the above-described space for improving heatdissipation performance.

Third Embodiment

A reactor 1C of a third embodiment will be described below withreference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

The reactor 1C of the third embodiment is the same as the reactor 1A ofthe first embodiment with respect to including a coil, a plurality ofcore pieces, and a resin foam gap member that includes resin foamportions, but the shape of the coil, the shape of the magnetic core, andthe number of gap members are different. Specifically, the reactor 1Cincludes a coil 2C that includes one winding portion 2 c, and a magneticcore 3C that includes two E-shaped core pieces 30C constituted by acomposite material and one gap member interposed between the core pieces30C, and this gap member is a resin foam gap member 35C that includes aresin foam portion 35. In other words, the reactor 1C includes only oneresin foam gap member 35C. Hereinafter, these differences will bedescribed in detail, and detailed descriptions have been omitted foroverlapping configurations and effects.

Reactor

Coil

As shown in FIG. 6, the coil 2C includes the tubular winding portion 2 cformed by winding one continuous winding wire 2 w into a spiral shape,and the end portion of the winding wire 2 w is lead out in anappropriate direction. The winding portion 2 c in this example is anedgewise coil that has the coated rectangular wire described in thefirst embodiment, and is shaped with rounded corners inside and outsidea rectangular tube.

Magnetic Core

The magnetic core 3C of the reactor 1C includes two core pieces 30C asshown in FIG. 6, and one gap is provided between portions of the corepieces 30C (specifically, between core-insertion projection portions 31Cthat are described later). The core pieces 30C have the same shape, andhave a shape corresponding to a so-called EE core. Specifically, thecore pieces 30C each include a short columnar core-insertion projectionportion 31C disposed so as to be inserted into the winding portion 2 c,and an outer core portion 32C on which the coil 2C is substantially notdisposed. The outer core portion 32C includes a plate-shaped joiningportion 32 o that is connected to the core-insertion projection portion31C and faces one end face of the coil 2C, and a pair of outerperipheral portions 32 s that are connected to the joining portion 32 oand are disposed so as to cover portions of the outer peripheral face ofthe coil 2C. The core piece 30C is, so to speak, a solid in which thecore-insertion projection portion 31C projects from the central portionof an inner end face 32 e of the joining portion 32 o, and the outerperipheral portions 32 s project parallel to the core-insertionprojection portion 31C from respective portions in the vicinity of thetwo edges of the inward end face 32 e. Furthermore, end faces of theouter peripheral portions 32 s project beyond an end face 31 e of thecore-insertion projection portion 31C. For this reason, in the statewhere the pair of core pieces 30C are assembled together such that theend faces of the outer peripheral portions 32 s of the two core pieces30C are in contact with each other, a gap having a predetermined size isprovided between the end face 31 e of the core-insertion projectionportion 31C of one of the core pieces 30C and the end face 31 e of thecore-insertion projection portion 31C of the other core piece 30C. Inthe magnetic core 3C, this gap is a magnetic gap, and the resin foam gapmember 35C is provided in this gap. The core-insertion projectionportions 31C in this example are cuboid with rounded corners, and thejoining portions 32 o and the outer peripheral portions 32 s are flatplate-shaped.

The magnetic core 3C forms a ring-shaped closed magnetic circuit whenassembled such that the end faces 31 e of the core-insertion projectionportions 31C of the two core pieces 30C face each other and the endfaces of the outer peripheral portions 32 s face each other. This closedmagnetic circuit forms the following loop: core-insertion projectionportion 31C of first core piece 30C-->resin foam gap member35C-->core-insertion projection portion 31C of second core piece30C-->joining portion 32 o of second core piece 30C-->outer peripheralportion 32 s of second core piece 30C-->outer peripheral portion 32 s offirst core piece 30C-->joining portion 32 o of first core piece 30C. Thewinding portion 2 c is disposed in the gap between the core-insertionprojection portion 31C and the outer peripheral portions 32 s that isformed when the core pieces 30C are assembled together. The end faces ofthe winding portion 2 c are in contact with or face the inward end faces32 e of the joining portions 32 o.

In this example, the lower faces of the joining portion 32 o and theouter peripheral portions 32 s project beyond the lower face of thecore-insertion projection portion 31C, and are substantially planar withthe lower face of the winding portion 2 c of the coil 2C. For thisreason, the installation face of the reactor 1C is mainly constituted bythe lower face of the outer core portion 32C and the lower face of thewinding portion 2 c.

Similarly to the resin foam gap member 35A of the first embodiment, theresin foam gap member 35C is a multilayer gap member that includes thegap plate 355 and the resin foam portions 35 respectively provided onthe two surfaces of the gap plate 355. The thickness of the resin foamgap member 35C is set according to the predetermined gap length, andcorresponds to the gap between the end faces 31 e of the core-insertionprojection portions 31C included in the two core pieces 30C. The shapesand sizes (areas) of the resin foam portions 35 and the gap plate 355that constitute the resin foam gap member 35C are, similarly to thefirst embodiment, approximately the same as the shape (rectangular withrounded corners) and size (area) of the end faces 31 e of thecore-insertion projection portions 31C, and the resin foam portions 35are flat plate-shaped. Similarly to the first embodiment, this resinfoam gap member 35C can be formed using the unfoamed resin sheets 350(FIG. 6) and the gap plate 355.

Reactor Manufacturing Method

The reactor 1C of the third embodiment can be manufactured in basicallythe same manner as the reactor 1A of the first embodiment. To give anoverview, in this example, the coil 2C, a pair of core pieces 30C, and alaminated member having a three-layer structure in which the surfaces ofthe gap plate 355 are sandwiched by unfoamed resin sheets 350 areprepared (FIG. 6). The coil 2C and the pair of core pieces 30C areassembled together, and the laminated member including the unfoamedresin sheets 350 is disposed between the adjacent core pieces 30C. Whenthe two core pieces 30C are assembled together such that the end facesof the outer peripheral portions 32 s come into contact with each otheras described above, a gap having a predetermined size is automaticallyprovided between the end faces 31 e of the core-insertion projectionportions 31C, and the state where the laminated member is interposedbetween the end faces 31 e can maintained. In the case where the resinsheets 350 have adhesiveness, the above-described interposed state canbe maintained even more favorably by adhering the resin sheets 350 tothe end faces 31 e. In the third embodiment in which the above-describedpredetermined gap can be maintained by the core pieces 30C themselves,by appropriately controlling the expansion rate through adjusting thetemperature or the like, it is possible to omit the restriction memberthat is described in the first embodiment and restricts the gap betweenthe core pieces 30C. It is also possible to use the restriction memberin the case of increasing the expansion rate, for example.

The two core pieces 30C are assembled together, the unfoamed resinsheets 350 are caused to foam in the state where the gap is restricted,and thus the resin foam portions 35 are formed. Accordingly, the reactor1C that includes the resin foam gap member 35C (multilayer gap member)is obtained. The resin foam gap member 35C is in close contact with thetwo end faces 31 e of the core-insertion projection portions 31Cincluded in the two core pieces 30C due to volumetric expansion of theresin foam. Furthermore, in this example, the resin foam portions 35have adhesiveness, and the resin foam portions 35 are in close contactwith the core pieces 30C due to the adhesive force of the resin foamportions 35 themselves as well.

In the reactor 1C of the third embodiment, the gap member is the resinfoam gap member 35C that includes the resin foam portion 35 containingair bubbles, and therefore stress that arises from vibration or the likeand can be applied to the reactor 1C during use can be reduced oralleviated by the resin foam gap member 35C. Also, the reactor 1C can beeasily manufactured by disposing the laminated member, which includesthe unfoamed resin sheets 350 and the gap plate 355, between the corepieces 30C and causing the resin sheets 350 to foam, and thisconfiguration has excellent manufacturability as well. In the case wherethe unfoamed resin sheets 350 have adhesiveness, assembly workabilityand workability during foaming are excellent, and this configuration hasexcellent manufacturability in view of this as well.

In particular, with the reactor 1C of the third embodiment, it ispossible to omit the restriction member that restricts the gap betweenthe core pieces 30C during foaming, and thus has excellentmanufacturability in view of this as well. Also, in the reactor 1C, oneresin foam gap member 35C is provided, and thus has excellentmanufacturability in view of the fact that (α) the number of assemblyparts used in the manufacturing process is reduced and (β) the gapbetween the core pieces 30C can be easily restricted precisely accordingto the gap length.

Also, the reactor 1C in this example has a coil fixing portion 4C thatis Π shaped and extends along a total of three flat portions includingthe upper portion and the left and right flat portions in the innerperipheral space between the core-insertion projection portions 31C ofthe winding portion 2 c of the coil 2C, and the two upper cornersportions that connect the three flat portions to each other. Onerecession portion 31 r is provided at the formation location (regionextending along the upper face, the two upper corner portions, and theleft and right faces) of the coil fixing portion 4C in the outerperipheral face of the core-insertion projection portion 31C of each ofthe core pieces 30C, and therefore the resin sheets 40C can be disposedeasily. The flat portion on the lower side (disposition side) in theinner peripheral space and the space in the vicinity thereof can be usedas the above-described space for improving heat dissipation performance.

Fourth Embodiment

A reactor 1D of a fourth embodiment will be described below withreference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

The basic configuration of the reactor 1D of the fourth embodiment issimilar to that of the reactor 1C of the third embodiment, and includesa coil 2C that includes one winding portion 2 c, and a magnetic core 3Dthat includes two E-shaped core pieces 30D and one gap member interposedbetween the core pieces 30D. The gap member is a resin foam gap member35D that includes the resin foam portion 35. One difference in thereactor 1D of the fourth embodiment from the third embodiment is thatthe resin foam gap member 35D is entirely constituted by the resin foamportion 35 and does not include the gap plate 355 (FIG. 6), and this isthe same as in the second embodiment. The reactor 1D is the same as thethird embodiment in that only one resin foam gap member 35D is provided.Hereinafter, these differences will be described in detail, and detaileddescriptions have been omitted for overlapping configurations andeffects.

The resin foam gap member 35D in this example is a single-layer gapmember that is entirely constituted by resin foam. The resin foam gapmember 35D is interposed between an end face 31 e of a core-insertionprojection portion 31D of one of the core pieces 30D that face eachother and an end face 31 e of a core-insertion projection portion 31D ofthe other core piece 30D, and has a thickness that corresponds to thepredetermined gap length. The resin foam gap member 35D is in closecontact with the two end faces 31 e due to volumetric expansion of theresin foam. The resin foam portion 35 in this example has adhesiveness,and the resin foam gap member 35D and the core pieces 30D are in closecontact due to the adhesive force of the resin foam portion 35 itself aswell. Similarly to the second embodiment, this resin foam gap member 35D(resin foam portion 35) can be easily formed by using an unfoamed resinsheet 352 that has a predetermined expansion rate.

In the reactor 1D of the fourth embodiment, the gap member is the resinfoam gap member 35D that is constituted by resin foam containing airbubbles, and therefore stress that arises from vibration or the like andcan be applied to the reactor 1D during use can be reduced or alleviatedby the resin foam gap member 35D. Also, the reactor 1D can be easilymanufactured by disposing the unfoamed resin sheet 352 between the corepieces 30D and causing the resin sheet 352 to foam in a state where thegap between the core pieces 30D is restricted according to the gaplength, and this configuration has excellent manufacturability as well.In the case where the unfoamed resin sheet 352 has adhesiveness,assembly workability and workability during foaming are excellent, andthis configuration has excellent manufacturability in view of this aswell.

In particular, in the reactor 1D of the fourth embodiment, similarly tothe second embodiment, the gap plate 355 is not provided, thus reducingthe number of assembly parts in the manufacturing process for the resinfoam gap member 35D, and making it possible to omit the gap restrictionmember similarly to the third embodiment, and due to only one resin foamgap member 35D being provided, it is possible to easily preciselyrestrict the gap between the core pieces 30D, and the reactor 1D hasexcellent manufacturability in view of these points as well.

Also, the reactor 1D in this example has a II-shaped coil fixing portion4D (FIG. 7) and a U-shaped coil fixing portion 4D that are disposed in avertical arrangement in the inner peripheral space between the windingportion 2 c of the coil 2C and the core-insertion projection portion31D. The one II-shaped coil fixing portion 4D is provided so as toextend along a total of three flat portions including the upper flatportion and portions of the left and right flat portions in the innerperipheral space, and along the two upper corner portions that connectthese flat portions. The other U-shaped coil fixing portion 4D isprovided so as to extend along a total of three flat portions includingthe lower flat portion and portions of the left and right flat portionsin the inner peripheral space, and along the two lower corner portionsthat connect these flat portions. Two recession portions 31 r areprovided at the formation locations of the coil fixing portions 4D inthe outer peripheral face of each core-insertion projection portion 31D,and thus the unfoamed resin sheets 40D can be disposed easily.

Variations

Modifications and additions such as the following can be made to thefirst to fourth embodiments described above.

(a) An aspect in which in the multilayer gap members described in thefirst and third embodiments, a resin foam portion 35 is disposed on onlyone surface of the gap plate 355

(b) An aspect in which the multilayer gap member includes a plurality ofgap plates 355

(c) An aspect including both a multilayer gap member described above andin the first or third embodiment, and a single-layer gap memberdescribed in the second or fourth embodiment

(d) An aspect including a core piece constituted by a powder compact anda magnetic steel plate

(e) An aspect in which the magnetic core includes three or more corepieces

(f) An aspect in which the magnetic core includes three or more gapmembers, and the gap members are each a multilayer gap member or asingle-layer gap member described in the first to fourth embodiments orthe like

(g) An aspect including a resin mold portion that covers the outerperipheral surface of the magnetic core, the core pieces, or theassembly of the core pieces and the gap members. In this aspect, therecession portion 31 r can be provided in the resin mold portion.

(h) An aspect in which in the case where the core pieces are constitutedby a composite material, an attachment portion constituted by thecomposite material is integrally formed with the core pieces

For example, the attachment portion is a through-hole or the like forattachment of a fastening member such as a bolt for fixing the reactorto the installation target.

(i) An aspect in which a sensor that measures a physical quantity of thereactor, such as a temperature sensor, a current sensor, a voltagesensor, or a magnetic flux, is provided

(j) An aspect in which a heat dissipation plate that is constituted by ametal, a ceramic, or the like and has excellent thermal conductance andinsulation performance is provided on the outer peripheral face of thecoil

(k) An aspect in which a bonding layer that is to be fixed to theinstallation target or the above-described heat dissipation plate(preferably constituted by an insulating material such as an insulatingadhesive) is provided on the installation face of the reactor

Note that the present invention is not limited to these examples, butrather is indicated by the scope of the claims, and all changes thatcome within the meaning and range of equivalence of the claims areintended to be embraced therein.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

A reactor of the present invention is favorably applicable to aconstituent part of a vehicle-mounted converter (typically a DC-DCconverter) to be mounted in a vehicle such as a hybrid automobile, aplug-in hybrid automobile, an electrical automobile, or a fuel cellautomobile, various converters such as a converter for an airconditioner, as well as a power conversion apparatus.

1. A reactor comprising: a coil; and a magnetic core that includes aplurality of core pieces and a gap member interposed between at leastone set of the core pieces, the magnetic core forming a closed magneticcircuit when the coil becomes excited, wherein a constituent material ofthe core pieces is a composite material containing a soft magneticpowder in an amount of 30 volume percent to 70 volume percent inclusive,a remaining portion being a non-metallic inorganic material in an amountof 20 volume percent or less and a resin, and at least one gap member isa resin foam gap member that includes, in a contact region that comesinto contact with the core pieces, a resin foam portion constituted byresin foam.
 2. The reactor according to claim 1, wherein at least oneresin foam gap member is entirely constituted by the resin foam portion.3. The reactor according to claim 1, wherein at least one resin foam gapmember includes a gap plate and the resin foam portion provided on onesurface or two surfaces of the gap plate.
 4. The reactor according toclaim 1, wherein only one resin foam gap member is provided. 5.(canceled)
 6. A reactor manufacturing method for manufacturing a reactorby assembling together a coil and a magnetic core that includes aplurality of core pieces, the method comprising: a step of preparing theplurality of core pieces constituted by a composite material containinga soft magnetic powder in an amount of 30 volume percent to 70 volumepercent inclusive, a remaining portion being a non-metallic inorganicmaterial in an amount of 20 volume percent or less and a resin, anddisposing an unfoamed resin sheet between adjacent core pieces among theplurality of core pieces; and a step of causing the unfoamed resin sheetto foam in a state where a gap between the core pieces between which theunfoamed resin sheets are interposed is restricted according to apredetermined gap length, to form a resin foam portion constituted byresin foam between the core pieces.
 7. The reactor according to claim 2,wherein only one resin foam gap member is provided.
 8. The reactoraccording to claim 3, wherein only one resin foam gap member isprovided.